FRANKFORT, Ky., Feb. 3, 2025 – Kentucky Specialty Courts announced today that the Pulaski County Drug Court program attained certification based on its use of best practices to create optimal conditions for participant outcomes.
“The Pulaski County Drug Court program has been a model of excellence since its inception, and as the current presiding judge, I want to continue in the same manner of excellence,” said Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge Teresa Whitaker, who volunteers to serve in Drug Court. “Our supervisors and staff care about the participants and use evidence-based practices to help them overcome barriers that would prevent them from having sustainable, long-term recovery.
“The Drug Court staff assists our participants in each phase of the program in addressing life situations without relapse. Even though relapse may be a part of recovery, the goal of the Drug Court program remains for the participants to lead a drug and alcohol-free life without recidivism. We want every participant to learn the life skills necessary to remain drug and alcohol-free upon graduation from the program. We are proud to now be state certified to continue striving to meet that goal one participant at a time.”
The Pulaski County program was evaluated and certified in 2024 with the standards set out in Kentucky Supreme Court Administrative Order 2022-50. The certification is for three years.
Kentucky Specialty Courts certification efforts started in 2023 with the Supreme Court’s adoption of amended rules in the Supreme Court order. The Certification Advisory Committee that oversees the certification process is headed by the chief justice and made up of 11 members.
Other Kentucky Drug Court programs that have received certification serve the jurisdictions of Campbell, Clark, Daviess, Fayette, Hardin, Jefferson, Johnson and McCracken counties.
Specialty Courts staff continue to work with Drug Courts across the commonwealth that are seeking certification. The goal is for all Drug Court programs to become certified and for Kentucky to be nationally recognized for its certification process.
About Kentucky Drug Court
Kentucky Drug Court operates as part of the Department of Specialty Courts at the Administrative Office of the Courts. Drug Court was Kentucky’s first Specialty Court program. Since being introduced as a pilot program in 1996, Drug Court has grown to all 120 counties.
Drug Court serves nonviolent offenders whose primary challenges stem from substance use disorder. This court-managed program offers treatment, intensive supervision, drug testing and case management at no cost to participants. Some counties provide programs for both felony- and misdemeanor-level offenses. Those who complete the program may have their charges dismissed through diversion or be granted conditional discharge through probation.
To learn more about Specialty Courts, visit https://kcoj.info/SpecialtyCourts.
Administrative Office of the Courts
The AOC is the operations arm of the Judicial Branch (Kentucky Court of Justice) and is based in Frankfort. The AOC supports the activities of nearly 3,300 employees and 412 elected justices, judges and circuit court clerks and executes the Judicial Branch budget.
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